Yeah, he preached it at TCC. They really do believe this stuff. In stead of wondering why people might be offended, and see how they might be able to be more loving they point the finger at the congregation.

Not cool. Something about beating the flock might be appropriate…

Craig, I’m glad you caught this. Did he preach this sermon at The City Church? I really find this funny.

Thanks for what you said. I agree 100%, we need to be sure when we are offended (and Jesus promised they will come), that we don’t become bitter or hateful. We should forgive all who trespass against us, no question about it. We should also make sure we do not harbor bitterness in our heart toward anyone.

The reason I wrote this article is because this doctrine is used for CEO-Pastors to have a blank check to say/do whatever they want. If you question leadership, then you are labeled as a bitter offended person. Just another straw-man argument to avoid properly discussing doctrine, or in Doug’s case discussing his behavior at his previous church.

1 Peter 3, Matt 5, and other places talk about responding to insult (verbal abuse) with a blessing. I believe that is where we are called to look past a personal offense/rude behavior. Christ certainly demonstrated this. He did not demand respect. After all, a soft answer turns away wrath.

However, as you point out, I believe we must act when we observe a brother or sister causing a little one to stumble. When there is abuse of the defenseless, bad doctrine, or use of Christ for personal benefit, a sincere love of Christ and our brothers and sisters should compel us to act in their defense.

As many things do, this discussion revolves largely around the definition of “offense”. In my mind, it boils down to this: when we feel “offended” we should ask ourselves, as objectively as possible, whether we are acting in defense of ourselves or in defense of Christ and/or others. If we are compelled to act in our own defense, there are many times we can let it go. If we are compelled to act out of genuine concern for truth and/or other people (rather than dislike for the offender) I believe we must do something. The way we go about it matters, but doing nothing is not necessarily an option. This gets down to the heart and mind of the individual, so its very difficult to know what is motivating a person when they are responding to an offense. But ultimatley, we are required to do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. A very difficult balance.